


25 days of the Holidays

by Madame_Xela



Series: Modern Madness [1]
Category: The Hobbit - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff, Hobbit Advent, Kid Fic, M/M, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, seriously
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-03
Updated: 2013-12-27
Packaged: 2018-01-03 07:50:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 25
Words: 9,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1067914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Madame_Xela/pseuds/Madame_Xela
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Running on three hours of sleep so it's kind of gross</p>
        </blockquote>





	1. Mistletoe

“Bilbo Baggins, why are there plants on my doorframes?” From where he was standing, he could see the one in the door way in front of him, and then another one off to his left. Undoing his tie, Thorin stared at the offending plant. It was small, with green leaves and hanging just above his head.

“Are you talking about the mistletoe?” Bilbo called from the kitchen. The smaller man walked into the front hall, drying his hands on a dishcloth. Oh, there was another one-how did Bilbo even get them up there? He was too short to reach half of their cabinets!

“Yes, why is there mistletoe hanging from every doorway?”

“Well,” Bilbo looped the dishcloth around Thorin’s neck (and ew, his shirt was getting wet with dishwater), tugging him down so their lips were only a hair apart. “We said we were going to go all out for the boys, and I know the decorations will give you a migraine in a week or so-so I figured I hang something up that I know you’d enjoy…”

“And how do you know I will enjoy it?” Thorin murmured.  

“Well…” Bilbo leaned up so his lips brushed against Thorin’s as he spoke. “Every time you find yourself under the mistletoe with someone, you have to kiss them.” With that, the blond man pressed a quick kiss to his husband’s cheek before running off laughing.

Thorin stood, frozen; but it didn’t take long for his brain to catch up with him. He ran after his husband, grabbing him from behind once he was in reach and dragging him to the nearest doorway and giving him a demanding kiss.

“Eww, Daddy and Papa are being gross! Yuck!” Five year old Fíli cried. Kíli, almost three, repeated the last word with a giggle. Fíli covered his eyes so his poor brother wouldn’t have to witness their parents doing gross adult things.

Bilbo pretended to be wounded. “Do you hear this Thorin? Our boys think we’re being gross! We’ll show them!” The blond ran after the boys and when he caught them he carried them under the nearest doorway and peppered their faces with kisses.

“GAH! PAPA SAVE US!”

Thorin was going to save them-honest!-but before he could move he was attacked by a shrieking baby in his walker. He picked up little Frodo (who had just celebrated his first birthday that past September) with a smile. “Hello Frodo, did you have a good day today?” The baby giggled. “Oh good. Were you a good boy for Daddy?” The toddler giggled again, making Thorin chuckle. He walked them under the nearest Mistletoe and pressed a kiss to the child’s temple. Frodo retaliated by pressing his open mouth to his Papa’s cheek and licking the stubble. “What a lovely kiss, Frodo. I think you should give one to Daddy.”

They snuck over to Bilbo (who was still peppering the boys’ faces with kisses and raspberries and making them shriek) and Thorin angled the child to the blond’s face.

“Frodo, give Daddy a kiss.”

Fíli and Kíli cheered when Bilbo’s assault stopped.  

“Oh no! I’ve been defeated by my little drool monster!” Bilbo pressed a kiss to the baby’s cheek and then blew a raspberry on his neck. “Papa thinks he’s so smart, but he’s forgotten my secret weapons-Fíli, Kíli attack Papa-but be careful of your brother!” The two boys launched themselves at their Papa, wrapping their little arms around his neck and squeezing.

The house was filed with Thorin’s deep laugh and the boys’ high pitched giggles, ending when Frodo got uncomfortable and fussed for Bilbo.

“Oh my poor boy, are they being too rough? Come on, let’s go finish dinner.” Somehow, Bilbo managed to grab Frodo and sneak away to the kitchen. Thorin called him a traitor; Bilbo just laughed.  


	2. Gingerbread

It started with Fíli coming home from school, bragging about how he had made the bestest gingerbread warrior in the class and that it was better than anything his brother could do. This of course angered Kíli and prompted an argument over who could make a better gingerbread. Which _of course_ led to Bilbo being assaulted by puppy eyes until he agreed to bake dozens of gingerbread men for them to decorate. _Of course_ Bilbo said yes.

When Thorin came home, the kitchen was a mess of icing, cookies, candy and wrappers. In the center of the chaos was his husband and boys. Fíli and Kíli were trying to decorate as many cookies as fast as they could while Bilbo was trying to wash out the icing baby Frodo had rubbed into his hair and Frodo was trying to wash Bilbo’s face with the icing.

Myrtle and Minty rushed to his side to escape the chaos.

“Do I even want to know?”

“No-”

“-PAPA! PICK WHICH ONE’S BETTER!”

“-You do not.”

Nodding, Thorin clipped the leashes on the German Shepherds, claiming he would take them on a walk.

“Daddy, Papa can’t leave! He didn’t pick!”

“Mine!”

“No _mine_!”

With a sigh, Thorin walked back into the kitchen and picked up a cookie from both of the boys’ plates. “I like these the best. _Don’t_ , look at your poor Daddy. You’ve driven him mad with all of this bickering. Now go wash up. I’m going to take the dogs on a walk and when I come back we’re going to go out for dinner.”

Before he left he gave Bilbo a soft kiss.

“How come you don’t think _my_ cookies are the best?” He teased.

“Quiet you”


	3. Mulled Cider

The days are short and chilly, as winter days often are.

Bilbo remembers days like this from a lifetime ago. Days where he would come home with numb fingers and a red nose. His mother would be waiting in the kitchen with a potful of cider and a mug set aside just for him. The cider would be sweet and spicy…back then Bilbo had told his mother that if home was a liquid, this would be it. Belladonna had laughed.

Bilbo spent years trying to perfect his mother’s recipe. She had given it to him, but whenever he made the cider it never seemed _right_.

And then one day, while Frodo was napping in his chair with Myrtle and Minty in the kitchen while Bilbo attempted to make the cider again, Thorin stumbled into the kitchen with Fíli and Kíli hanging off his arms. They all had red noses and rosy cheeks and were giggling nonstop. Bilbo pulled out four mugs and spooned the cider into them (careful to give the boys less). He placed them at the table-and boys take off those dirty boots please-and leaned against the table with his hip.

The boys took off their shoes, shed their outerwear, and climbed up to their respective seats. Thorin did the same, only instead of going to his seat he went behind Bilbo, wrapping his arms around his waist and pressing his icy nose to the blonde’s neck (which Bilbo did _not_ appreciate).  

“Oh yummy! I like this Daddy!” Kíli said, giving a few longer than necessary blows before taking another sip.

Fíli, on the other hand, eyed the cup suspiciously. “Daddy…it smells like apples.”

“Yes, but it’s very good. Just try a sip.”

“ _You_ didn’t.”

Rolling his eyes Thorin takes a sip from his cup. “See? It’s delicious.” The child takes a sip (which only looks like he touches the liquid for a second) and admits softly that “’s pretty good.” He finished the whole cup (and a second).

Kíli holds up his cup. “Daddy can I have s’more?” Kíli gets three more cups before Bilbo can drink his own. When the cider hits his tongue, Bilbo wants to laugh.

He has finally perfected his mother’s recipe. 


	4. Snowfall

“Daddy-Daddy! It’s _snowing_.” There was a steady stream of white, heavy snow falling on top of the seven inches that had settled during the night.

“I see Fíli.”

“Can we make a snowman?” Kíli asked.

“Sure we can!”

*

Bundling three children is no easy feat. Especially when two of the three are too excited to sit still and the other one wants nothing to do with the evil boots being placed on his feet. But somehow, Bilbo managed.

“So, what are we going to do first?” Fíli and Kíli toddled around awkwardly as the snow was rather high for them. Bilbo held Frodo in his arms as he made his way across the yard.

“Snowma-”

“SNOW BALL FIGHT” Fíli launched snowballs at his Dad and brothers (very, _very_ gently tossing the snow at Frodo) until his arms hurt.

Once they stopped the snowball fight, Fíli ran around trying to catch snowflakes on his tongue. Frodo dozed off.

“Daddy,” The dark haired toddler asked as he made his way to the steps where his Daddy sat. “can we make a snowman now?”

Bilbo nods. “Sure darling, just let me put Frodo down for a nap.” Kíli doesn’t look happy, but he nods anyway. Bilbo picked up the sleeping baby and brought him up to his room, bringing the baby monitor out when he made his way outside.

“Okay Kíli we-”

“OW! DADDY!” Suddenly his arms are filled with a screaming five year old. Fíli had fallen on the driveway and landed on his arm. Nothing broken-thankfully-but he had a nasty bruise forming. The next few minutes are a blur as Bilbo takes the children back inside. He strips Fíli of his snow clothes and bundles him in a few blankets on the couch. He caters to Fíli’s whims of putting on a Christmas special, then get him some juice and carrot sticks, with Kíli standing by the door the entire time holding his little hat in his hands as he stared out at the snow that continued to fall.

“Okay Kíli now we can-” Frodo started crying.

Kíli threw his hat on the floor and ran upstairs to his room.

*

As it turned out, Frodo had only woken because of a dirty diaper. Once that had been changed he was fast asleep.

So Bilbo went to Kíli’s room to talk with his middle child.

The door was shut (but not locked because Thorin had removed the locks on the boys’ doors) and Bilbo could hear sniffling and quiet talking on the other side.

“’S okay Mr. Snowman. You can have my scarf. ‘S warm.” Bilbo felt his heart shattering in his chest. All Kíli wanted to do was make a snowman, and even though it was the only thing he had asked to do (and he had asked before they had gone outside) their lawn was still snowman-less.

The blond cracked the door open and peered inside. Kíli was in the middle of his room in front of a crudely made ‘snowman’ made of a rolled up sleeping bag, a ball, and Kíli’s snow clothes. “Kíli, love, what are you doing?”

“Buildin’ a Snowman.” Kíli didn’t look away from his snowman.

“But…don’t you think it would be better to do that outside?”

“Can’t. You busy.”

“Oh Kíli.” Bilbo rushed into the room and pulled his son into his arms. The poor thing pressed his wet face into Bilbo’s neck (any other time Bilbo probably would have cringed at the snot on his shirt). “I’m so sorry. Come on, let’s get you dressed and pick out what we need for your snowman.”

*

Bilbo was no expert when it came to making snowmen (and unsurprisingly, neither was Kíli). The head was lopsided, the middle too large, and one of the eyes kept falling off. But Kíli adored it and Bilbo had to admit that it had its charms.

Bilbo managed to take a picture of the three of them before they went back inside and set it as his background.

“Thank you Daddy.”

“You’re welcome, love. I must say, you made a great snowman.” 


	5. Traditions

When Fíli and Kíli were first placed in their care, Fíli cried almost every day. The only things that distracted him were stings of Christmas lights. Now, when they first arrived it had been the beginning of July, so as you can imagine, there had been no Christmas lights up yet.

(Well, that’s not true. Gandalf’s little home down the road was still covered in Christmas decorations, and Halloween ones. It’s better if one does not ask.)

So while on a quick trip to Gandalf’s, Fíli noticed the lights (that were on even though it was the middle of the day. Bilbo had stopped wondering about his friend a long time ago) and was entranced.

“Oh! Do you like the lights Fíli?” Fíli-unsurprisingly-did not answer. But he reached out with his chubby little hands and tried to grab the lights. “No no darling, they’re going to be too hot for your little hands. It’ll hurt.” Fíli started crying again.

*

Later, cuddled together on their bed while feeding Kíli, Bilbo told Thorin about what had happened earlier that day.

“We should put up a bunch of lights this year.”

Thorin agreed. “Mm. And we can take them to light shows.”

“Oh! Fíli would love that!”

*

“Bilbo. Bilbo no. Halloween was yesterday. We are not putting up the lights yet.”

*

“Did you leave any lights in the store!?”

*

On December first Bilbo and Thorin made their way to the first light show. It was at the local park and nothing extravagant but Fíli loved it. Thorin’s shoulders felt the brunt of the excitement from the toddler’s constant bouncing.

“Ooh! Look!”

For the first time in a very long time, little Fíli looked _happy_. And they would be damned if they let him get miserable again.

*

They went to three more light shows before Christmas that year. Those days were Bilbo’s favorite because Fíli would smile and laugh and play like he hadn’t been a sad puppy the rest of the week.

*

The next year Bilbo and Thorin took the boys to see more lights. The difference that year was they were joined by Thorin’s cousins Dori, Nori, Baby Ori, Gloin, Grída, and Baby Gimli. The kids (save Gimli who spent the entire time sleeping) _loved_ it. Ori, Fíli and Kíli tried to run off as fast as their little legs could carry them with Dori and Bilbo close behind.

Fíli had tried to climb a snowman made of lights, Ori had fallen face-first into a pile of snow, and somehow the three boys were able to drink their weight in hot chocolate.

All in all, it was a good trip and the boys were asleep before they pulled out of the parking lot.

*

Now, they had Frodo to add to their group. Along with Dori’s beau Balin (Another cousin of Thorin. Though on his father’s side); Bilbo’s friends Bofur and Bombur and his brood of five; and Balin’s brother (and Thorin’s best friend) Dwalin.

“Now boys remember, stay close and let us know if you get tired or cold.”

“Yes Daddy!”

*

Like all the other times, their trip was fun. But chilly winds and the constant threat of snow made them end their evening early. The highlights of the evening had been watching Dwalin carry an armful of children (surprisingly it was not the amount of children in his arms that cause the man to struggle, but the fact that Kíli decided to tug his beard and Ori had pulled off his hat to trace his tattoos with his claw like fingernails), kissing Thorin under an illuminated archway, and Gimli burying his whole body behind his father’s beard when he got too cold.

As Balin strapped Ori into his car seat and Thorin made sure that the boys were tucked under their blankets Bilbo said their goodbye’s to everyone.

“Bombur will you and your family join us next week as well?” He liked Bombur, the rotund man was kind and he and Bilbo spent a good portion of the evening trading recipes.

“Sure. How often do you go to these shows?”

“About once a week during the holiday season. Each time we go we manage to drag a few extra people with us.” Dori makes a quiet comment about him being last year’s unwilling victim. Bilbo shoots him a look. “Though, perhaps next year Dori and Balin will bring another new addition to our group.”

They graying man sputters, rushing away with a quick ‘see you next week’. Bilbo and Bombur chuckled. “Anyway, see you later Bombur.”

“Same to you, let me know how the roast comes out.”

The car is warm when Bilbo buckles himself into the passenger seat. Kíli and Frodo are asleep in their seat and Fíli stared out at the lights with a sad look.

“Don’t worry Fíli, we’ll be back.”

Fíli nods, but the sad look didn’t go away. “Next week?”

“Next week.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Running on three hours of sleep so it's kind of gross


	6. Bells

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not going to be around later so I'm posting this now.

_Jingle jingle jingle._

What on earth?

_Jingle jingle jingle._

Frodo giggled.

Bilbo walked into the living room to see Kíli and Frodo sitting in front of each other and in Kíli’s hand was a ring of bells. The man leaned against the doorway, watching as Kíli would count to three and then shake the bells. Frodo thought it was hilarious; giggling and kicking his tiny legs until the bells stopped.

He rushed back to his office and grabbed his phone. He took a thirty second video of his boys. It was hard to hold back his laughter, but he managed. Kíli and Frodo continued their little game in ignorant bliss.

When he made it back to his office he collapsed in a fit of giggles, sending the video to Thorin and then posting it on his facebook page. Within moments he was notified of likes and comments.

 **Dori R:** OMG how cute is this!

 **GLOIN:** WHAT A GOOD BIG BROTHER, YOU HAVE RAISED HIM WELL

 **Bo:** Lol, luv those 2!

Bilbo snorted at his friends comments. Trust those three to comment first.

 **Hamfast Gamgee:** Cute, have your ears stopped ringing yet?

 **Thorin Oakenshield:** We have bells??? Who thought that was a good idea???

 **BB:** I have no idea, but they love them!

Any other comments were ignored because Kíli ran into the office, tears running down his face, screaming. Bilbo picked him up and walked into the other room where Frodo still laid (the poor baby looked like he too was going to cry).

“Kíli, darling, what’s wrong?”

“MINTY TOOK OUR BELLS AND BROKE THEM!”

The dog in question sat a few feet away looking both indignant and apologetic at the same time with a ring of broken bells at his feet.

“Oh dear. Minty you know that’s not nice.”

“Put him in time-out Daddy!”

“Kíli, I’m not putting Minty in time out. He probably wanted to play with you, that’s all.” Kíli started sniffling again. “ _But_ how about I call Papa and have him pick up some more bells on his way home?” When Kíli gave a little nod, Bilbo took out his phone and called his husband.

_“Hello.”_

“Hey love, your son has something to ask you.” Bilbo handed his phone to the toddler.

“Hi Papa.”

_“Hi Kíli, what did you want to ask me?”_

“Papa, Minty broke my bells!”

 _“No!”_ Bilbo nearly choked at the exaggerated gasp. Kíli nodded seriously, even though Thorin could not see it.

“Yeah! And Daddy won’t put him in time out so you have to buy us new ones, okay?!” The ‘okay’ came out sounding like a very serious ‘oh-hay’ and Bilbo couldn’t hold in his laughter anymore. Between his laughs he managed to remind Kíli to use his manners. The toddler all but yelled ‘please’ into the phone.

_“I’ll see what I can do.”_

“YAY! More bells!”

 _“I’ve created a monster.”_ Bilbo couldn’t agree more and reminded his husband to pick up an extra bottle or two of aspirin because once Fíli found out about the bells, there would be no peace. 


	7. Wrapping Paper

“I think we should just give Frodo empty boxes and wrapping paper. We can put his actual presents in his room.” This unexpected comment startled a laugh out of Bilbo. Putting down the half wrapped present (a kit of instruments for Frodo) he turned to his husband.

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s all he’ll focus on. I know it, you know it, and Frodo knows it.”

“Frodo does not know it; he just likes the bright paper.” The blond said with a laugh. “And besides, Fíli and Kíli would have a fit if they thought Frodo wasn’t getting presents.”

That was true. Being the loving big brothers that they were, Fíli and Kíli would cry and try to share their presents with Frodo if they thought that he didn’t get any. That could cause a few problems.  

“Fine, but you’re going to be the one who takes it away from him.” Bilbo rolled a wad of wrapping paper into a ball and threw it at his husband. 


	8. Crackers

It was all Bofur’s fault. Bilbo’s dear, _dear_ best friend had thought it was a good idea to bring the boys boxes of crackers.

Now, a normal person might think that young children and crackers do not mix well so a pack of six would be more than enough. Not Bofur. Oh no. Bofur bought _two_ boxes of _twelve_.

‘One fer Christmas, and one fer practice.’ And Bofur, being the _loving_ (read: evil, maniacal) uncle he was, showed the boys how to make the crackers pop before he ran out of the house.

Eleven times Bilbo and Thorin listened to the ‘Pop!’ of the crackers. Eleven times Bilbo and Thorin listened to the boys letting out ear piercing shrieks of faux fear.

Then, once the crackers had all been popped, Fíli and Kíli went round trying to find homes for the paper crowns. Kíli got yellow, Fíli got blue, Bilbo got red, Frodo got green, Thorin got pink, and Myrtle and Minty both got orange but due to an…accident…their crowns were no more. That left five more crowns for the boys to spend the rest of the night fighting over.

“Bilbo.”

“Yes Thorin?”

“The next time Bofur comes over with a surprise for the boys, we’re locking the doors and hiding in the basement.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry! I haven't been home the past few days, so I'm going to post the three I need to tonight.


	9. Carols

Bilbo loved Christmas carols. Starting on November first, he would hum or sing at every opportune moment. He even got Fíli and Kíli (and Frodo, in his own way) to join in.

Thorin hated Christmas carols. Well, hate is a strong word. He liked them well enough; he just hated hearing the same song sung ten thousand times a day at the top of Fíli and Kíli’s lungs (thank you Bilbo). It was cute the first and second time, but after that, Jingle Bells wasn’t appealing anymore.

Bilbo knew that he didn’t have the best voice. He was in key (thank god) but he always sounded croaky. Part of the reason he started singing so early was because he was trying to get Thorin to join in. Thorin had a beautiful voice; deep and melodical. Songs like ‘White Christmas’ were perfect for him.

But Thorin never did seem to join in the fun; in fact, he seemed annoyed by it all.

Or so he thought.

He was in the kitchen one morning, dancing to some Christmas song as he made breakfast when the music changed. It was slower than the last one, so Bilbo’s dancing slowed.

“I really can’t stay.”

“Baby its cold outside...” Bilbo did _not_ jump when his husband came into the kitchen. Nope. The bacon just spat at him. Yes, that’s it. (Thorin sent him a smirk like he knew what Bilbo was thinking.)

The blond pointed his tongs at his partner. “I’ve got to go away.”

Thorin was more amused than intimidated. He walked up behind Bilbo, wrapping his arms around the shorter man’s center. “Baby its cold outside.” Thorin’s voice was deep and quiet, like rumbles of thunder.  

“This evening has been”

“Been hoping that you’d drop by”

“So very nice”

“I'll hold your hands their just like ice” Bilbo snorted when his hands were cradled between Thorin’s.

They continued singing and dancing together, but their song ended prematurely when their three little boys came in cheering.

“You guys are so good!” Fíli cried. Kíli agreed, but then asked if breakfast was ready.

The parents chuckled. 


	10. Hot Chocolate

“Papa, can we have hot chocolate?” Bilbo had taken Frodo to the doctors that morning, so it was just Thorin and the two oldest boys.

Now, you would think that all Thorin would have to do was make a few mugs of cocoa and they’d drink it and that would be that.

Well, clearly you’ve never had to deal with a five year old and a three year old at the same time. Oh yes, first the cocoa was too watery, then too cold, then they wanted more marshmallows, then there were too many, then they wanted whipped cream, then they wanted cinnamon, and then they wanted peppermint. By the time the boys were satisfied the kitchen was a chocolate mess and Thorin had spiked his own cocoa with more brandy than was strictly necessary.

“Are you happy now?”

“Yes! Thank you Papa!”

  “Papa can I try yours?” 


	11. Warmth

Frodo liked being warm. He liked his blankets, his jumpers and even his hats (but god forbid you try to put socks or shoes on his feet). He loved it when Myrtle and Minty slept at his side while he played with his brothers.

But his favorite times were when his parents held him. In the mornings, when Daddy held him, he would pick him up and wrap him in his dressing gown because the house was too chilly. The baby would nuzzle his face into his Daddy’s fleece covered chest, enjoying the warmth. Frodo would whine when he was taken out because everywhere else was too cold compared to inside Daddy’s dressing gown.

Then there were the days that Papa had off, or when Papa came home and needed a little nap. He would lie on the couch-usually with all three boys, but sometimes Fíli and Kíli were too hyper and got up-under a thick blanket with Frodo on his chest. He could see why Daddy loved him-Papa was always so warm! He never cried when he woke up from a nap with Papa, having gotten a good amount of sleep. Daddy and Papa loved that, and gave him lots of warm hugs. 


	12. Candlelight

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I accidentally angst

There is one day they don’t talk about in December. December twelfth. Dís’s birthday.

Every year, on the eleventh, Frerin would come and stay the night. The next morning all six of them would pile in Bilbo’s car (and no, it wasn’t a minivan, no matter what Frerin said), go to the florist to get a bouquet of red and yellow roses (her favorite flower), and drive to the cemetery.

Kíli, too young to really understand, usually said Happy Birthday to the headstone bearing the names of his parents and then asked Bilbo if he could sit in the car with Frodo. Fíli remembered his mother, somewhat. He remembered her warm smiles and her loud laugh. Fíli would stay long enough to whisper happy birthday and tell her that he missed her before running off to the car.

Frerin and Thorin would sit for half an hour, talking about everything that had happened since their last visit. Bilbo would stand behind them, carding a hand in each of their hair in support.  

Fíli and Kíli would then complain that they were hungry, and the three men would pile back up into the car and drive to Dís’s favorite breakfast place. Frerin would joke every time that they should get a bacon, jalapeno, and tomato omelet (her favorite); Thorin would retort that Frerin would cry about it being too spicy before he took the first bite (and Thorin thought the mix was disgusting, so he wouldn’t eat it).

The rest of the day was spent in a lighter mood, taking the children to the playground and spending the rest of the day at home.

But long after the sun set and the children were put to bed, Thorin and Frerin got out their favorite picture of their sister and a stupid scented candle (that was supposed to be gingerbread, but anyone with a nose could tell that it wasn’t) that she loved so much. Bilbo made them all tea (and if the tea was spiked with a bit of brandy, no one commented) and they sat in the living room, their only light being the candle, and told stories about Dís in her youth.

Bathed in the soft glow of the candle, the brothers start singing. It’s a song that their grandfather had sung to them as wee lads. Dís adored it. Even though the song starts with the loss of a home she had always adored the underlying hope in the lyrics and had sung it nearly every day.

The men have pleasantly deep voices, but Bilbo doesn’t allow himself to enjoy it. This is a time to remember his friend.

When the song ends, Frerin heads to bed. Thorin and Bilbo wait a little longer, staring at the flame, before following. Bilbo blows out the candle while Thorin puts away the picture of his sister. The candle had been out for no more than a moment when Bilbo a whispered ‘Happy Birthday, baby sister. I miss you.’ and his heart shatters.

Reaching out, he threads his fingers with his husband’s and waits for Thorin to be ready.

Thorin does not say a word for the rest of the night. 


	13. Home

Thorin’s laptop chimed. He checked the hotel clock and saw that it was one thirteen in the morning. Who the hell was bothering him at this hour? Turning on the light, he grabbed his laptop and opened Skype.

He was met with the grinning faces of his three sons.

“Morning Papa!” Fíli and Kíli called. Oh. Right. Damn time zones.

“Morning boys. Where’s your Dad?” 

“Sleepin’”

“…did you three take Daddy’s laptop?”

“…maybe.” Fíli said quietly.

“Boys what are you-is that my laptop? I _told_ you not to play with it! What are you even…Thorin!”

“Morning.”

“’Morning.’ Did they wake you up?”

Thorin shrugged. “It’s fine. They do it at home too.” Bilbo gave him a considering look.

“Okay boys, say goodbye to Papa. He needs to get to sleep.” They did and Kíli asked (a little too loudly to be honest) when Thorin would be home.

“The day after tomorrow, now be good for Daddy. I love you boys.”

“Love you Papa!” The parents chuckled fondly as the three boys rushed off to do lord knows what.

“Well, I’ll let you get back to sleep. I’ll see you when you get home, the day after tomorrow, right?”

“Right. I love you Bilbo.”

“I love you too, Thorin.”

*

What Bilbo and the boys didn’t know was that all of Thorin’s business had been finished well ahead of schedule and after three hours on the phone, he was able to move up his flight home to the next morning (for Thorin, it was that night for Bilbo and the boys).

Unfortunately it was a rather late flight and by the time Thorin’s car had pulled into the driveway it was dark and cold and all Thorin wanted to do was curl in his bed for the next three days.

*

Bilbo had taken to sleeping with Myrtle and Minty in the bed with his husband gone. On any other day, Thorin would have felt guilty making his husband feel so lonely, but right then he was too tired to do anything more than strip, manoeuver around the dogs and curl against his husband’s back. Bilbo didn’t wake up, but he made a quiet noise and trapped one of Thorin’s arms between his.  

*

Morning came all too soon in the forms of three groggy-eyed boys. Fíli had undone the latch to Frodo’s crib and had awkwardly carried the babe from his room to the master bedroom ( _again_ ) with Kíli holding on to the back of his pajamas.

“Daddy, Daddy can we have pancakes for breakfast? Frodo told me he wanted pancakes.” Fíli asked.

“Frodo did no such thing.” Thorin said without opening his eyes. “If you want pancakes ask nicely.”

“PAPA!” The three little bodies scrambled up onto the bed and they tried to wiggle into Thorin’s arms.

Rolling over, the blond man shushed his kids. “Boys, it’s too early to be loud.”  He cracked an eye open. “Why-THORIN, YOU’RE HOME.”

“I thought it was too early to be loud?” There was no bite in the words, only amusement, which made Bilbo roll his eyes and reach forward to kiss him.

“ _Now_ can we have pancakes?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The other two chapters I owe you will posted at the end of the day!


	14. Midnight

The party was a blast. Fíli and Kíli spent most of the evening playing with Gimli and Ori. Frodo had not strayed too far from his parents for the better part of the evening, except for a few games he played with the other boys.

By the time the couple had decided it was time to leave, it was almost eleven. They said good-bye to Thorin’s cousin Dain (and thanking him for the invitation) and detangled their boys from the pile of sleeping children.

By the time their car pulled into the garage it was almost midnight. They shushed Myrtle and Minty as they carried the sleeping boys to their bedrooms. Changing them and tucking them in was so much easier when they didn’t have the boys fighting every two seconds, but it still took a decent amount of time.

By the time Bilbo and Thorin managed to change and get into bed, it was long past midnight and the duo prayed that the boys would be kind just this once and sleep in.

…Of course they wouldn’t, but let’s let them dream.   


	15. Roaring Fires

Power-outs are never fun. Especially with three young children. Thorin had gone out and come home with a generator, a space heater, and a car-full of firewood (thanks to Bofur and Bifur). He set up the generator outside, and connected their refrigerator and the space heater to it.

“But Daddy, I don’ wanna sleep in F’odo’s room! ‘S for babies!”

“It’s also the warmest room in the house, darling.”

“But…” Fíli gave him a very confused and concerned look. “Won’t you and Papa be cold?”

“No, darling. We have a fireplace in our room.”

*

“Do you remember our honeymoon?” Bilbo asks as they strip their bed.

“Two weeks of snow and sex? No, it must have slipped my mind.” Thorin replies with a smirk, making Bilbo roll his eyes.

“Well, yes. But I was referring to the power-out we had, and all the sex in front of the fireplace…” He gave a meaningful look to the fire blazing brightly opposite their bed. “Of course if you aren’t feeling up to it, that’s perfectly understandable. I just thought you would like a proper thank you for braving the storm earlier.” Faster than Bilbo had thought possible (it had been a long time since he had seen his husband move _that_ fast) Thorin had pulled off the pillows and blankets from the bed and ran to the closet to get a few spares ‘to make it more comfortable’.

While he was off doing that, Bilbo got out the lube and the massage oil and placed them on the bed. He pulled off his sweatshirt and unbuttoned his pajama top-which was a very bad idea because even though they had a nice fire going, it was still freezing in the room. Goosebumps covered his skin as he waited.

“T-Thorin, are you almost done making that nest?”

His husband looked up and frowned. “I am now; come here Bilbo.” He holds out a hand, tugging Bilbo down into the nest of blankets when he feels the smaller hand in his. Bilbo falls without a sound. “You ridiculous man, it’s too cold for you to be shirtless…though I do appreciate the view.”

Bilbo gave a mock scowl. “And yet I have no view to enjoy. Do you see the problem here?” Grinning, Thorin pressed their lips together.

“Demanding little thing, aren’t you?”

“You love it.”

“I do.”

Thorin, with some assistance from Bilbo, managed to get the shirt off.

“Oh it’s been far too long since I’ve had you to myself Thorin.”

Their night was filled with burning touches, long kisses, and a few noises that Thorin will never admit to making in polite company.

By the time they were sated and ready for sleep the fire had died down to nothing but embers.

“Thor’n go put more wood in the fire.”

“No. I don’t want to move.”

“But I’m _cold_.”

“You’re also closer, you can get off your butt and do it.” And with that, Thorin fell asleep.

“Wow, I love you too.” Bilbo said with no small amount of sarcasm. But he rolled over and threw a few logs in the fireplace and soon he had blessed heat radiating against his naked front (and with Thorin’s sleeping form providing heat from behind, Bilbo was quite comfortable).

 _‘This really is like our honeymoon.’_ The blond thought with a soft smile. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, there would have been smut, but I got annoyed because I spent too long on this.


	16. Jumpers

For reasons Thorin will never understand, Bilbo and his cousins compete to take the most awkward family photos at holiday time. Thorin went along with it because the photos were always amusing (and the thank-you sex was an added bonus) but when Bilbo brought home jumpers that lit up Thorin drew the line.

“Bilbo, I might go blind if I wear that.”

“Fíli and Kíli like them.” Indeed they did. The five year old and the three year old were wearing their jumpers and pressing the buttons to make them light up every three seconds. Kíli giggled each time he pressed the button.

“Bilbo, I love you, but I think it’s time we send you to an institution.”

“Oh hush you.”

Frodo cried when the atrocity was placed on his tiny body and Thorin cheered when Bilbo decided that they would not be wearing the jumpers for the photos (and if he gave Frodo an extra treat later, Bilbo did not need to know about it). 


	17. Decorations

When Bilbo picks the boys up from Bofur’s (who had been kind enough to watch them while Bilbo did some shopping) they hide a shoebox in their bag and are amazingly tight lipped about what’s inside.

“What on earth did you give them?”

But Bofur merely smiles and winks. “I’m afraid I can’t tell ye. But trust me when I say ye will love it. I will accept me payment o’ baked goods now.” Bilbo snorts, but hands him a basket of cookies he made the night before.

*

“Boys, Papa and I are taking you out to get a tree tonight.”

*

“Oh this is perfect!”

“Can we decorate it tonight?”

“Not tonight, tomorrow.”

“Oh. Can we go back to Uncle Bofur’s?”

*

Another day of shopping done, Bilbo made his way to Bofur’s house. Just like yesterday, the boys left with another closed shoebox and Bofur was annoyingly tight lipped.

“Just trust me. Ye will love it.”

*

When Thorin got home, they set up the tree in the living room. The two adults spent almost an hour unravelling and putting up the lights and the garland, but once they tried to put up some of the ornaments, they were yelled at by the two older boys.

“Go in the other room!...Please!” Kíli added as an afterthought.

Waiting was…interesting. There was shuffling, loud whispers, and Thorin was sure that he heard something fall at one point.

But it was worth it when Fíli and Kíli led them back into the living room. On the tree were ten handmade ornaments. Some were painted, some were little clay sculptures, some had far too much glitter, but there was one that Bilbo absolutely loved. It was a small, square frame with a picture of the boys napping together on Bofur’s couch.

“Oh boys, they’re beautiful! Did you make these?”

“Yes! Uncle Bofur helped.”

“MINE ARE THE GLITTER ONES” Kíli yelled. Honestly, they weren’t surprised. 


	18. Ice Skating

“Daddy, how did you meet Papa?”

“Oh…well…” Bilbo sits the three boys on Fíli’s bed as he redresses them in their pajamas. He tells them how, when he was much younger, he had gone ice skating on a pond not too far from his home. Due to his excitement, Bilbo hadn’t properly checked to see if the ice was thick enough and he had fallen through.

Luckily, a handsome stranger with long, dark hair had been jogging nearby and saw him fall in. The man had selflessly jumped in to save him.

“I had to go to the hospital, and he came to visit me every day. When I got better we went out for coffee and have been together ever since.” By now, the boys were drowsy (or in Frodo’s case, fast asleep). Thorin came into the room with a chuckle and moved the younger two boys to their respective rooms.

“Good night Fíli.”

“Night Daddy.”

*

“That was a lovely story.” Thorin teased.

“Well, I _did_ fall through the ice, and you _did_ save me. I just didn’t tell them how we hated each other’s guts beforehand.”

Chuckling, Thorin kissed his husband’s cheek. “Hate is such a strong word. I prefer easily frustrated by.” Bilbo just kissed him before Thorin could say anything else. 


	19. Feast

Letting Bombur and Bilbo cook together was both a good thing and a bad thing. Good because of all the food (and oh, the food was so good), bad because of _all the food_.

“Bom, there’s no way we’re all going to be able to eat that!” Bofur said, eyes wide as he took in all the food in his brother’s kitchen.

Bombur, for his part, looked offended. “Of course we can!”

“No Bom, we really can’t.”

“We can eat it for you Uncle Bombur!” Fíli yelled.

“I can eat it all up!”

Laughing, Bilbo set the boys in their seats. “Oh I’ll bet you can.”

The rest of the adults sat around the table and began eating.

*

Stuffed to the limit, Thorin reclined in his chair, putting his hands on his stomach. Between the four adults and the three children (all of whom had considerable appetites) they hadn’t even eaten half of the food that was before them.

You two are no allowed to cook together ever again. 


	20. Pudding

“Papa what’s figgy pudding?”

“Fíli, I have no idea. But its nine o’clock and you need to go to bed.”

“Can we make figgy pudding tomorrow?”

“Fíli, go to bed.”

*

“Daddy, do we have any figs?”

Bilbo looks up from his laptop with a frown. “Maybe, there might be a pack of dried figs in the pantry from when Aunt Lobelia last visited.”

“Thanks Daddy!” With that, the boy ran off. Bilbo rolled his eyes. Children.

*

“Fee, what are you doin’?”

“’M making figgy pudding.”

*

When Bilbo made his way down to the kitchen not twenty minutes later to feed Frodo, his kitchen had become a warzone. Fíli and Kíli were (unsurprisingly) in the center of it, surrounded by empty chocolate pudding containers, an empty fig container, and a bowl in between them filled to the brim with the two missing food items.

“What are you-”

“OH YUCK! FIGGY PUDDING IS GROSS!”


	21. Parties

The good thing about this time of year was that there were a lot of parties. The bad thing was there were a _lot_ of parties. If it wasn’t the Tooks throwing a bash, it was the Bagginses throwing a grand dinner. If it wasn’t Dain throwing some sort of party, it was the Sackville-Bagginses trying to get in their good graces (which they were doing a piss poor job at).

Sometimes, more than one party fell on the same night…

“What a… _witch_!” Bilbo hissed, slamming their bedroom door behind him as he stomped to the bed.

“And who are we talking about tonight?”

“LOBELIA! She knew we were going to Balin’s tomorrow, and suddenly she’s got a huge dinner planned that we simply must go to-god forbid we don’t!”

“Bilbo calm down. Just tell her that you have prior obligations. And if she doesn’t like it then she can go fuck off.”

Whatever moodiness Bilbo had felt was chased away by laughter at his husband’s statement. “Oh god, could you imagine?!”

“Unfortunately, yes. But now it’s time to go to sleep. Tomorrow we get the joy of listening to shrieking children who have had too much sugar.”

Groaning, Bilbo buries his head into Thorin’s shoulder. “Don’t remind me!” 


	22. Presents

With a family as large as theirs, there are bound to be many presents (ones that weren’t even from Santa). When Fíli and Kíli first saw the pile, they were awestruck. It was twice as big as they were, combined!

“Whoa…” they whispered in near unison.

“Oh dear,” Bilbo said. “I think we broke the boys.” Several of the adults chuckled. The spell that the children were under seemed to disappear and the two boys launch themselves at the massive pile, trying to sort out the presents and guess what they were.

Ori ended up joining the duo, and even Frodo tottered over to grab at some of the shiny packages.

Leaning down, Thorin whispered in his husband’s ear. “Do you think we should tell them that not all of the presents belong to them?”

“No, let them figure it out on their own. They won’t believe us if we told them.”

And indeed, once everything was sorted into several smaller piles, the boys could not believe the difference.

“But the pile was so big before!”

“Yes darling, but you separated the presents into a lot of smaller piles.”

“But-!”

“Fíli, if you’re good, Santa will bring you more presents on Christmas Eve. But now you must stop worrying about your presents and give Uncle Dori the bag that has their presents in it because they have to go home.”

The blond boy huffs, but does as he’s told and hands said bag to his Uncle with a shy ‘Merry Christmas Uncle Dori’ before rushing off to say goodbye to Ori.

With a smile and a laugh, Dori watches him go. “You’re going to have your hands full on Christmas.”

“Oh, don’t remind me!” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I missed the last few days, but oh well...it still counts because the next few days are the twelve days of christmas, right?
> 
> And I've read your comments and I wanted to say thank you and I am very glad you enjoy this! I love reading your comments, they make me smile and try to get the next chapters out so you can enjoy those as well.
> 
> As for the request to expand the roaring fires chapter...there is an extremely high chance of that happening. There was supposed to be a bit more to that chapter to begin with, but I figured you all had waited long enough.


	23. Snowball Fight

It is a thick layer of snow the Baggins-Durin household wakes up to just a few days before Christmas. Bilbo is excited at the thought of a white Christmas. Thorin wants to hide in bed and prays that the snow will shovel itself. Frodo couldn’t care less so long as his parents let him snuggle in between them for a while. Fíli and Kíli? They wanted to play.

So it was with sluggish movements and no small amount of grumbling that the two adults fed and clothed everyone and made their way out into the still falling snow.

*

Surprisingly enough, when asked about it later, no one could remember who started the fight. All they could remember was a wad of snow falling on Thorin and then all hell broke loose. Snow balls flew everywhere! Some soared through the sky, blending in with the falling fluff enough to stay hidden. Some flopped not two feet from their thrower.

Bilbo had the advantage, defense wise, for he had claimed little Frodo and as we all know we must be careful around little ones. He also had Myrtle and Minty planted at his sides and when they got a little too excited, they jumped up and tried to catch the snowballs before they hit their master.

Fíli and Kíli had the advantage of being small targets with quick feet. Often enough, the adult’s shots missed because the boys rushed in a different direction or they ducked just enough for the snow to miss.

Thorin had the advantage of strong arms and good aim. Most (not all) of his shots hit their targets, and every time they hit he would let out a deep, loud laugh.

Eventually, the snow fight got a little too out of hand. Fíli and Kíli had taken to grabbing handfuls of snow and shoving it down their Papa’s shirt. When Thorin had done the same to Bilbo, the blond man had called off the fight.

And what a sight they made as they walked into the house caked in a sheet of heavy snow. As the made their way to the closest bathroom trailing slush and water, Bilbo laughed as his husband had to dust his beard.

Fíli and Kíli changed with little struggle (a miracle, really) and Frodo enjoyed the warm bath he got. Once everyone was dry and warming, they made their way to the living room to enjoy some cocoa and a silly Christmas special.

It was a very nice change. Bilbo thought as he dozed against his husband.

*

Much later, when the snow fall had slowed considerably and the boy were all napping (again, a miracle), Thorin and Bilbo made their way back outside to shovel. For the first time all day, Bilbo was curious about who had made the first throw. As he watched his husband brush away a pile under one of their trees he nearly choked on his laughter as snowball sized clumps dripped off the branches and landed on Thorin’s head.  


	24. Morning

Two days before Christmas (Christmas Eve Eve as Fíli had taken to calling it) the boys had a lot of trouble getting to sleep.

_‘But what if all the snow on the roof makes Santa slip and he dies?!’_

_‘Fíli Santa isn’t going to slip off the roof.’_

_‘Santa’s gonna die! He’s gonna die and we aren’t gettin’ any presents an’ Christmas won’t happen!’_

_‘Oh my g-Thorin tell the boys Santa’s not going to fall off of the roof!’_

_‘Santa will be fine, but he won’t come if you keep talking about him dying.’_

That essentially ended the conversation. Thorin made a note to talk to their friends about child-friendly subjects when taking care of their boys. 

*

By morning, the worry had faded and was replaced by an alarming amount of excitement. At quarter to six Thorin’s wakeup call was a three year old dropping on his stomach.

“Ow! Oh F-Kíli what was that for?!” He wheezed.

The little boy grinned. “’S Christmas Ebe!”

With a grimace, Thorin rolled over towards Bilbo (which made the boy topple off and land on his Daddy) so he could wait for his stomach to stop aching.

The blond settled the boy between them and pressed a sleepy kiss to Kíli’s dark hair. “Yes love, but it’s far too early for little boys to be awake. Now give Papa a kiss and tell him you’re sorry and go back to sleep for a little bit.”

“Oh…sorry Papa.” He gave Thorin a very loud kiss on his cheek. “I was too ‘cited.”

“It’s fine. Go back to sleep.”

Kíli didn’t sleep, but at least he was quiet.

*

The next time they were woken up, Fíli was trying to push Frodo up onto the bed. With a quick look at the clock Thorin was glad to see that it had been a little over an hour since his rude wake up call.

“What are you two doing?”

“We want to cuddle in the big bed too!”

“Pap-Pap!” Frodo called, reaching out to his Daddy. Thorin made quick work of dragging them up to rest next to their brother. Bilbo slept on, but even in his sleep he sensed the new bedmates and made room for them. It was nice and quiet-for the moment-and absolutely perfect.

Too bad the peace and quiet was ruined when the boys demanded breakfast.

Oh well, it was time to get up anyway.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more to go! Lets see if I can get it typed and posted today!


	25. Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo! Last Chapter!

There was a time where Christmas to Thorin was driving to his parents’ house to have dinner and dessert and exchange presents; and then drive home to have several glasses of Brandy spiked with eggnog until he passes out.

Those were lonely Christmases. Not that anyone needed to know that.

And then he met Bilbo.

*

There was a time where Christmases to Bilbo were weeklong affairs stuck in his grandfather’s manor with dozens of distance relations and twice as many over excited children running amuck. It was loud, everyone asked him far too many private (some were down right explicit!) questions for his liking, and his parents never let him stay hidden for more than five minutes.

Bilbo hated those Christmases. Most of his family knew that.

And then he met Thorin.

*

On their first Christmas together, they got into an argument over what they were going to do. Bilbo rather liked Thorin’s traditions, Thorin wanted to see what Bilbo had always complained about. They ended up doing both-which was an incredibly horrible idea.

On their second Christmas (the first in their house, actually) they had visited both of their families and came home to have some extremely satisfying sex.

On their third Christmas, they had made a plan that just seemed to stick. On Christmas eve they would spend the evening with Bilbo’s family, but on Christmas they would spend at their house hosting a party and dinner that consisted of some of their friends, most of Thorin’s family, and Bilbo’s parents.

And this was how it stayed, for the most part. There were new additions nearly every year (Myrtle and Minty being some of them) but there had also been some lost loved ones. And for the longest time Christmas was easy, starting with the two men and the two puppies, and ending with them.

*

Now, Christmas Eve is a day spent by letting their boys run around with their many younger cousins until they drop, eating until they’re drowsy, and driving home to put the boys to bed so Santa can come.

Now, Christmas is a day that starts far too early after going to bed far too late because they had been setting up presents and putting together larger toys (that really shouldn’t be that hard to assemble). It’s a day filled with giggles and high pitched squeals of delight and a mountain of wrapping paper that only keeps getting bigger. It’s Bilbo spending hours in the kitchen cooking something that smelled delicious while the boys begged Thorin to ‘Please open this one Papa. Just one more Papa!’ and who is he to deny them on Christmas. It’s loud friends and relatives coming and filling every crevice of the house with laughter. It’s cooking beside Bombur while some of the little ones run about with their new toys. It’s soothing one of the boys because they got too excited and hurt themselves. It’s Thorin distracting Bilbo with kisses so he can steal a bit of food. It’s Bofur, Nori and Dwalin laughing loud enough to make the house shake at some inappropriate joke. It’s eating at a small table with a bunch of adults whose table manners are barely better than the children’s. It’s an hour of clean up, and off key Christmas carols. It’s hugs and kisses and overtired children. It’s spiked eggnog and pies and embarrassing stories while the children doze on the floor. It’s _family_. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for reading! Thank you for your kudos, comments and bookmarks! I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I had writing it!


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